Colossus: The Secrets of Bletchley Park's Codebreaking Computers
Sign in to keep track of books you’ve read and want to read.
The American ENIAC is customarily regarded as having been the starting point of electronic computation. This book rewrites the history of computer science, arguing that in reality Colossus—the giant computer built by the British secret service during World War II—predates ENIAC by two years.
Read more
Colossus was built during the Second World War at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park. Until very recently, much about the Colossus machine was shrouded in secrecy, largely because the code-breaking algorithms that were employed during World War II remained in use by the British security services until a short time ago. In addition, the United States has recently declassified a considerable volume of wartime documents relating to Colossus. Jack Copeland has brought together memoirs of veterans of Bletchley Park—the top-secret headquarters of Britain's secret service—and others who draw on the wealth of declassified information to illuminate the crucial role Colossus played during World War II. Included here are pieces by the former WRENS who actually worked the machine, the scientist who pioneered the use of vacuum tubes in data processing, and leading authorities on code-breaking and computer science.
A must read for anyone curious about code-breaking or World War II espionage, Colossus offers a fascinating insider's account of the world first giant computer, the great great grandfather of the massive computers used today by the CIA and the National Security Agency.
Liked Colossus: The Secrets of Bletchley Park's Codebreaking Computers? Here’s where I’d start.
These suit anyone who liked Colossus: The Secrets of Bletchley Park's Codebreaking Computers. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.
-
The Life of the Automobile: The Complete History of the Motor Car Shares history, technology, nonfiction -
The Victorian Internet Shares history, nonfiction, technology -
Station X: The Codebreakers of Bletchley Park Shares nonfiction, history, World War II -
Creating the 20th Century: Technical Innovations of 1867-1914 and Their Lasting Impact Shares technology, history, nonfiction
“People who read Colossus: The Secrets of Bletchley Park's Codebreaking Computers tend to reach for these next.”
“If you want more of the same (history about technology), start with these.”
“If it was the technology that hooked you, try one of these.”
-
The Axemaker's Gift
- America the Ingenious: 76 World-Changing Inventions and the Visionaries Who Made Them Happen
-
Rebels Against the Future: The Luddites and Their War on the Industrial Revolution: Lessons for the Computer Age
-
Pandaemonium, 1660-1886: The Coming of the Machine as Seen by Contemporary Observers
